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NHL Picks

Anaheim's Momentum Continues, Ducks +133 the NHL Pick vs. Sharks

The Anaheim Ducks have started to right the ship following a terrible start to their season. Can they stay hot when they visit the rival San Jose Sharks on Saturday night?

Momentum
After opening the year with nine losses in their first 10 games the Ducks bounced back with consecutive wins over the Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers to show signs of life. Anaheim got a tough test from a Columbus Blue Jackets’ team that is in a similar position following a rough start on Friday night and less than 24 hours later they will visit the rival Sharks looking to continue clawing their way back in to the Western Conference playoff picture.

Meanwhile, San Jose has won two of three following their own stretch in which they dropped five of six games and they are looking to add another to the win column as they wrap up their four-game home stand against Anaheim on Saturday and the New York Islanders on Tuesday night. The Sharks earned a 2-0 win over the Ducks on home ice in their lone meeting so far this season and will hope for a similar result on Saturday night.

Projected Starting Goalies
San Jose will have had a couple of days off between games and should have Martin Jones back between the pipes after Alex Stalock started against Florida on Thursday night. Jones is 6-4-0 with a 2.16 goals against average and .923 save percentage this season and he turned away all 27 shots he faced in a 2-0 shutout win over the Ducks in their first meeting of the season.

The Ducks have not confirmed their starter for Saturday night but Frederik Andersen got the start for them on Friday night against Columbus so they could go back to him or try out Anton Khudobin. Khuodobin is 1-2-0 with a 4.06 GAA and .875 save percentage so far this season while Andersen has a 2.03 GAA and .934 save percentage so there is clearly a big difference between the two netminders.

Outlook
This appears to be a tail of two teams possibly heading in different directions. Yes, the Sharks have won two of their last three games but it’s also important to note that they have cooled off significantly since the start of the season. They started 4-0-0 and are just 3-6-0 since. They’ve actually lost three of their last five at the Shark Tank.

As for the Ducks, they might be worth a flier on the NHL Odds. Yes, they’re in a back-to-back situation and also playing their third game in four nights, but they’re on a bit of a roll. They’ve figured things out this week and enter Saturday’s contest on a three-game winning streak. The line is a bit too high on San Jose here, so take a shot with the Ducks at a juicy +133 for your NHL Picks. This game should be a little more even than the betting line might indicate.